Undercover Boss
by SparrowsFlight
Summary: Undercover Boss Rumbelle AU: Life was great for, Mr. Cluck's Chicken Shack, CEO Aiden Gold. At least until he finds himself roped into a reality show where bosses go undercover in their own companies to find out how their businesses are really being run. Gold nearly gives up when he is paired with a young Manager named Belle who teaches him what's really important in life and work.
1. Chapter 1

**Thanks to AnonymousNerdGirl for the initial idea and the lovely ShipperQueen93 for Beta reading. 3**

* * *

If there was one thing that Mr. Gold hated more than normal social interaction then it had to be forced social interaction on a reality television program. Oddly specific he knew, but given his current situation it was understandable.

Wearily, he pulled the hotel room key from his wallet and frustratingly had to insert the key three times before the damn green light would come on and grant him entry. He trudged inside the darkened three star quality hotel room with a great sigh and quickly peeled off the hot wig from his head and threw it onto the bathroom counter as he passed by. It was part of his contract with the show that he not remove any of his altered costume or break character until he was back in the hotel room for the evening, lest he be spotted. Spotted by who or what he had no fucking idea, but he believed that the producers delighted in making this as antagonistic as possible for him.

He ran a hand through his short sweat filled strands as he collapsed backwards onto his bed. He could deal with the beard that he had had to grow out, he had the odd one from time to time throughout his life but the low quality, polyester monstrosity was another thing. It was hot and itchy and he looked fucking ridiculous. When he had first been presented to his 17 year old son in his new transformation, Neal had laughed hysterically and questioned why he had roadkill on his head.

The glasses he wore were actually his own. He didn't need them all the time but they were particularly useful reading the fine print of his dealings. He pulled those off and folded them, gently tossing them on the nightstand. Gold pinched the bridge of his nose where the glasses left their mark and gently massaged the area. A headache would be coming, he knew, as it had every night since he'd been forced onto this television show.

* * *

It all started several months back when his Public Relations Manager, Ursula Finn, had come to him with a proposition. A popular reality show, Bosses Undercover, had approached them to appear on the show. A higher up from their corporate ladder would go undercover in their chain of restaurants, Mr. Cluck's Chicken Shack, and work with their everyday employees to gain insight into the front lines of the business. Both she and the Chief Talent Officer, Ella Deville, thought it was a brilliant idea, and a great way to increase their public image and moral.

Gold didn't think it could hurt. He had been with the company for around 7 years now, and though their numbers were generally good and they were consistently named one of the top chicken joints in the US, he knew there was always room for improvement. It wasn't until after he'd already signed off on the venture, (he'd left his glasses at home that day), that he realized that _he_ would in fact be the boss going undercover.

"Well, it couldn't be either of us, darling," Ella had drolled, leaning back against his desk. "We are the beautiful faces of the company. We visit the stores on occasion. Too many people know us and see us."

"You on the other hand," Ursula picked up, "You are a virtual ghost. You've been here forever but aside from us and the people on this floor, I don't think anyone even knows what you look like. You're more recognizable by your signature in the monthly memos than visually," she laughed and Ella nodded in agreement.

Gold had groaned realizing that there was no way out. This was one deal he made that he truly hadn't understood. The women carried on laughing at his misery and thinking up all of the terrible jobs that he would be forced to do and worse yet, the horrible disguises they could come up with.

"You know...they'll probably make you wear…" Ursula paused, a glint of laughter in her eyes. She leaned closer into Gold and whispered, "Jeans!"

"Ohhhhhh perish the thought!" Ella exclaimed, clutching at her heart and throwing herself back across Gold's desk knocking off several items and howling in laughter.

Gold internally cringed. The thought of dressing down almost more terrifying than the fact he'd been stupid enough to sign off on something without reading the fine print. Ursula and Ella may be his only friends but he had seriously began thinking of all the different places he could hide their bodies.

* * *

His phone buzzed gently in his pocket and Gold groaned just knowing instinctively who it would be. He ignored it deliberately, not ready to go down that avenue yet. The day had already been too fucking long.

The filming that was done that day had been the most humiliating of them all. It had started out with a young know it all cashier named Killian Jones being his "trainer" for the day. He spent most of the day patronizing Gold as if he had never operated a cash register before, slowly walking him through every button and its function, going even slower on the self explanatory ones like, "Total." As if speaking slowly wasn't bad enough he also would often adapt his tone to speak louder than necessary when answering any of Gold's questions drawing the attention of everyone around them.

He was less than an hour into filming when he wanted to throttle the man. While Gold ended up doing all the work Killian flashed his smile and batted his eyelashes at every female under 40, striking up conversations and inviting them to see his houseboat on the harbor. Anytime that the line would get backed up Jones would placate the line of customers by reminding them that the elderly needed jobs too and to give Grandad a break.

Gold could only scream internally and question for the millionth time why he had decided to give up smoking. A cigarette or two or three would have taken the edge off that he so delicately teetered on these days.

After the lunch rush, the producers decided that it would now be a good time to film the pair outside of the restaurant. Each episode featured one of these "intimate" scenes where the employee would spill their guts with their tragic background. Many of the people were genuine enough but Gold already had a feeling Jones was far less deserving than the others he had met along the way.

They headed outside to take out the trash with Gold doing the bulk of the work. Jones dragged his feet behind him and offered no assistance with the heavy bags.

Killian Jones was the worst kind of employee and so far nothing that he had said about his past in this "intimate session" made Gold feel anything but disgust for the man. He had after all seen the man in action all morning. He was the type of employee that made the general population look down on the customer service industry. He was the guy that accosted every woman he saw no matter how uneasy she seemed or who was with her. He was the guy that forgot to wash his hands and then handled your food without gloves. The employee that then later was caught sneaking chicken strips off the pass to eat himself or taking a bite and putting it back. Killian Jones was the employee that dropped your food and just picked it back up and served it to you with a smile.

Gold had stopped trying to feign interest until his own real name had been brought up in conversation, and how it was specifically his fault that he had been passed over for a shift leader promotion over the company's stricter attendance policy. "I miss a couple days without calling or come in an hour late and it's as if the world has ended." Gold rolled his eyes and really wanted to tell him that corporate and he especially had no hand in the appointment of individuals for smaller internal positions but he knew that wouldn't matter.

The ranting was far from over as he rattled on about the company's core values; integrity, accountability, customer first, enjoying your work and one team one goal; and how unrealistic it was to expect the employees to follow this "code of honor."

"Gold thinks that we should treat this menial job as some sort of a career instead of the low class slop it is. Take pride in what we do and how we do it. It's fucking fast food, mate. There's no pride in this. The guy is just another shit for brains corporate clown. No one's even ever seen the guys face. Even he isn't proud of this monstrosity. Why should we be?"

Gold was tempted to relieve the man from his job then and there but that would have meant breaking cover, and as much as he wanted to rip the sweltering wig from his head and dump it in the trash, it would just be a bigger pain in the end.

"Why stay then? If you hate it so much?" Gold had to wonder if it would it be too much to hope that perhaps the man had some redeemable quality in his background. Working to support an ill parent maybe, or to put himself through college?

"Well, mate, between you and I, I'm only working here for awhile longer. I have a band on the side. Perhaps you have heard of us. Hook and the Jolly Rogers?" he questioned with the self importance only youth could bring. Gold just quirked a brow and kept his face impassive.

After a moment Jones growled and finished his thoughts."Well, I suppose I can't expect the leader of the geriatric society to know anything about music, but we're _this_ close to signing a deal with Midas records. When we do I'll burn this place to the ground. Til' then though, this place is just a means to an end. I take some buckets of chicken with me, maybe pull in some off the record tips for my services rendered and call it a day."

Gold focused on one of the garbage bags still between them, processing all the information this idiot had not only told him but the camera crews as well and felt a smile quirk over his lips. The reveal show could not come soon enough.

"Did you say Midas Records? As in Stefan Midas?" Gold asked, lifting the bag up and tossing it into the open dumpster.

Jones eyed him warily. "Yes," he spoke softly drawing out the word. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason. My son and I are fans of some of their artists. You see in between my early dinners and naps at the retirement home, they sometimes let me out for recreational activities like concerts and such. I was just having a hard time imagining Midas and company willing to diminish the quality of their content and reputation with some petty thief and his rag tag gang."

To Jones credit he took Gold's comments without much much of an outward reaction. His eyes registered the insult but he just smiled back at Gold with his bright, bleached teeth, a predatory edge in the corner of his grin.

"Here, mate, let me help you with that last bag," he said reaching for the large trash bag in Golds hand. Before Gold could decline he pulled a small pocket knife from his trousers and slit a hole in the side of the bag spilling its contents across the pavement. "Whoops, would you look at that? Better get that cleaned up straightaway," he laughed and dashed back across to the restaurant.

Gold let loose a string of profanities so immense in their detailing that he knew that the scene would have to be heavily edited if not cut all together. The nerve of the bastard. He was still fuming ten minutes later after he had finally gotten all the chicken bones and assorted trash up. He slammed open the back door uncaring of who he startled and made a beeline to Jones, who was chatting up a young looking blonde at the front counter.

"Hey, mate." Gold bumped into Jones harshly. "Do you have a problem with me? Why don't you come back outside with me for another little chat and I can tell you exactly how I feel about you and your pathetic little life." He shoved at Killian's shoulder again and this time he shoved back but Gold stood his ground. The customers had all began to turn their heads and gather to watch the conflict. The cameramen were practically in the men's faces, excited to finally catch some action.

"I don't know what you're talking about, _mate._ Perhaps you should head on back to the retirement home for your early dinner and a nap. Maybe then you won't be such a crotchety old man," Jones hissed back.

Gold would have punched him then and there but they had been broken up by the store manager Sydney Glass. The men were brought back to the office where he spoke to them calmly about how they were improperly representing Mr Cluck's franchise and lectured them on teamwork and character, using phrases like "One team, one goal." as he brought up the restaurant's core values. Gold genuinely liked Sydney, he seemed a fair man, but he didn't appreciate the lecture at all.

"We just simply put cannot have this level of behavior out on the floor in front of customers. Carl," he addressed Gold and it took a moment for Gold to remember his alias. "I know that we were going to have you working with Killian the rest of the day but under the circumstances I think that it may be best to separate you for the duration. Especially, considering we are due for a corporate visit today." Sydney folded his hands over his desk and stared at the men like a principal breaking up a schoolyard fight.

"Corporate visit?" Gold questioned, hoping this didn't mean what he thought it did.

"Yes, we received a call this morning that Ursula Finn and Ella Deville will be making a stop to our store this afternoon. They wanted to see how our team was getting along with this Job Swap show and observe some of the filming. You can see now why this behavior is especially unsavory," he concluded.

"Of course they're visiting," Gold mumbled under his breath.

"I'm sorry?"

"I said of course it's unsavory, and I apologize." Gold covered and extended his hand to Sydney. Sydney took it without hesitation and then shook Killian's too.

"Glad we are back on the same page. Now about the new job we'll have you do...how tall are you, Mr. Benton?"

* * *

Gold's phone buzzed again in his pocket and he groaned. Why couldn't they just leave him alone?

He pulled the phone out and unlocked it with a quick swipe of his finger, the home screen indicating two new messages. One of them was from Neal telling him good night and that he loved him. He quickly responded back with the same and let him know he was sorry he hadn't called and he'd speak with him in the morning.

The next message was a picture message from Ella and he already knew without opening what it would be. He contemplated deleting it without ever looking but he knew it would drive him crazy if he didn't verify the monstrosity with his own eyes. With great reluctance, he opened the message was assaulted with the self portrait that Ella and Ursula had taken with him during their "surprise" visit.

They stood on either side of him with biggest grins. He was pretty sure that Ella even had tears in her eyes from her barely contained laughter. Right in the fucking middle was Gold in the yellowest, feathery, and hotter than the sands of hell chicken suit. Sydney's job had been to spend his remaining time drawing in customers in the sweltering July heat and handing out coupons.

Underneath the photo was a single caption.

 _Have a cluckity, cluck, cluck night, Aiden!_

Gold text back furiously sending nothing but dozens of knife emojiis and Ella responded back immediately with a winky face and a kiss. Gold just sighed and plugged the phone into the charger beside the bed and set his alarm for 545am.

He pulled the yellow uniform shirt over his head and angrily tossed it into the corner as he headed in to take a shower.

"One more day," he whispered to himself looking in the mirror feeling older than all of his years. One more day of this madness and he'd be free. Well, technically. He still had the reveal show and wrap up but at least then he could finally be himself and not some fool nearly dying of heat stroke on the corner telling all the people to have a cluckity, cluck, cluck day.

That motto would be the first thing to go, he promised. In fact he was pretty sure it had started as a joke by Ella in the first place before somehow managing its way into their marketing campaign.

He took his time in the shower, washing the smell of chicken, grease and sweat from his body, using copious amounts of soap and body wash to be sure the smell didn't linger. The inside of the suit had been the worst. He wasn't sure when the last time was that the thing had been dry cleaned but certainly not in recent memory. It reeked of sweat and body odor, making him gag whenever he breathed in too deeply. The suits would be the second thing to go. No human should have to degrade themselves like that, advertising be damned.

When he was satisfied he no longer smelled like the rotting insides of that yellow suit he got out and dressed for bed. Exhaustion finally took its toll as he collapsed back onto the bed and pulled the covers up, reaching a hand out to switch off the bedside light.

The next day would be easier. At least he didn't have to make a mad dash for a red eye across the country again. This time he'd be working at one of the company's top stores just on the other side of the city. The work would be in management and his task was to work with the store manager to get an idea of what they were doing differently from their lower performing stores. What was the manager's name? Something French he thought? He was too exhausted to remember as sleep slowly began to claim his weary mind, thoughts of dancing yellow chickens, fueling his nightmares.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey wow random update 2 years later right? I'm sorry guys right after I had posted the first chapter my Grandma had passed away and then I was pregnant and had a baby and didn't write in a loooooong time. I found this beast of a chapter languishing in my drafts and decided I would post it for anyone who is still interested!**

 **There is one more chapter after this but fair warning I have no idea when it will be posted. I want to finish some of my incomplete works but I've been doing a lot of writing for another fandom. I'll do my best to make sure it's not another two years though. :D**

* * *

The morning came far too early, his cell phone breaking the silence with its obnoxious alarm. Generally Gold considered himself an early riser anyways, had enjoyed it even, but he quickly found out that working on a tv show introduced him to a new view on what early really was. The additional manual labor he found himself doing these days didn't make getting out of bed any easier either. It had been a long time since he spent 10-12 hours a day on his feet. He sat up, swiping blindly at his phone to shut off the still sounding alarm, and swung his legs over the bed rotating his ankle slowly, doing his best to work the aching out.

It was an old injury from back when he was a kid in University. An impromptu football game with some friends whose names he now couldn't even remember, a lucky kick and a great goal for his team ended with a boot to the ankle, breaking the bone in several places. It had healed for the most part. Only when the weather changed or he spent a lot of time on his feet did the injury come back to plague him. Nothing a few aspirin couldn't clear up if needed.

Gold knew that Neal wouldn't be awake this early but he sent a quick text anyways letting him know he loved him and to have a good day before finally fumbling out of bed and starting the coffee maker. The coffee was too strong and always had a burnt aftertaste as most hotel coffees seemed to suffer from, but it was hot and he was going to need the energy.

It was just after 8am when he was finally through with being made up and was finally put into a car to head toward the last restaurant. Today was his last day of filming undercover before the big reveal and it couldn't go fast enough. He wasn't sure how many more Killian Jones' that he would be able to take before snapping and that would not be good for anyone involved if he did.

He was given a little folder of information beforehand to read over during the drive so he wouldn't be walking in entirely blind. Store #4565 had been one of their top performing stores for the last two years. Before then their numbers had been disastrous and probably still would be if the management hadn't switched hands from a Keith Nottingham to Belle French. Ms. French's influence had been practically immediate with their numbers jumping up nearly 60% in the first quarter alone. This improvement was a mystery that Gold truly couldn't wait to uncover.

Rain started to fall just as they reached the restaurant and Gold had to jog across the parking lot to the doors. His wig looked terrible enough dry. If it were wet he was positive he would look no better than a drowned rat. The camera operators and rest of the technical staff followed behind him and gave him the go ahead. Another team had already mic'd everyone else up while he was on his way over.

He knocked lightly on the doors which were still locked. Officially they didn't open to the public until 10am but there were always workers in early to prep the food for the day ahead. A young slip of a girl smiled as she made her way out from the back, her long brown hair pulled up and wearing a yellow polo with a picture of a chicken on it tucked into her black dress slacks. Even wearing something as innocuous as that Gold couldn't help but stare as she made her way to the door and unlocked it.

"Hello! You must be Carl right?" she said after he made no attempt to say anything, too caught up in the bright blue eyes that were now before him.

"Uh, yeah, yes. I'm Carl," Gold fumbled and accepted the petite hand that was held out in front of him. He was by no means a large man but his entire hand nearly engulfed hers in the handshake. He couldn't help holding but hold on to her for an extra moment, relishing the softness beneath his own rough hand. "And you are…" he trailed, cursing his mind for completely forgetting the name in the file that he had just read moments before.

"Belle French!" she smiled happily. If she noticed his awkwardness she made no mention of it and he felt his guard lowering slightly. "I'm the Manager so I am going to be looking out for you for the day!"

"Wonderful," he smiled back.

"Okay, great. Now just follow me back here to the kitchen and we can get started!" Belle turned on her heel and Gold followed after her like an obedient servant. He felt vexed by this small woman before him and he knew that he probably would have followed her off a cliff in the moment if she was leading the way.

"First we need to wash our hands, all the way up to our elbows," Belle began stopping before a large sink. She turned the water on to a warm setting and with a quick flick of the wrist hit the soap dispenser and began washing. Gold maneuvered next to her and washed his arms up to his elbows.

"Now we are going to start with a little bit of food prep. You aren't afraid to get your hands a little dirty are you?" she asked a hint of laughter behind her tone.

"No, of course not. Dirty is my middle name!" Gold shot back. It took him only moments to really that that probably didn't come across the way that he had intended it too and he mentally cursed his failings already this morning. Belle just giggled and tapped his arm like he had made a grand joke.

"That's what I like to hear! So, just watch me, I will show you how this is done and then you can have a go." She reached out and grabbed several raw chicken legs and dunked them into a yellow batter. "First we batter, get a nice even coat and then," she removed the chicken legs, yellow batter slightly dripping, and laid them into the flower and spices mixes, "you'll just drop these here and you want to completely cover the chicken with the flower. Don't be afraid to get a little messy, a mess we can clean, but uneven flowering will lead to our chicken being spotty and overdone in places and that is not the impression that we want to give the customer. When you are finished , place them in this basket and then we'll drop them in the fryer when we are finished. Sounds easy enough?" she asked, turning her attention to him.

"Yeah, no problem." Gold moved before the prep table.

"Great. We need four thighs, four breasts and four wings before we can drop our first batch, so go ahead and get started with that."

Gold grabbed a couple thigh pieces and dipped them into the gooey batter. "So, how long have you worked here at Mr. Cluck's?" he questioned as he moved the chicken to the flower.

"I have been here for 4 years now. I've been a manager for two years," she answered. "Don't be afraid to get messy," she said and jumped in to where he was gently coating the chicken with the flower. She dipped her hands in the flower and piled it upon the chicken, tossing and turning it even as it still rested in Gold's hands. He jumped slightly as their hands made contact. "Now pull them up. You see how evenly the flower is spread across now? We want it to always look like that. You're doing great. Keep going with the next two thighs."

Gold placed the thighs with the chicken legs and had to admit that Belle was right. The flower stuck more evenly when it was covered as opposed to his dainty working. "What position did you start in?" He asked, keeping the line of conversation open and for once not feeling like every word was being forced out of him. He genuinely wanted to know.

" I originally started out as just a cashier but our old manager was … not the best to say the least. So, really I ended up working every position at one point or another. In the end it really helped me though because then I understood every function and what was required of our team. I was promoted to shift manager and then after Keith left I was made the manager. The rest is history," she quirked and took the next two finished thighs from his hands.

"Is prep work still part of your job as a manager or do you just enjoy it?" Managers were generally the overseers of the day to day tasks and while there were moments that they would jump into other positions as needed, it did seem rare to find one doing the prep work.

"I don't mind the work but no it's not what I usually do. Our cook Jefferson has a little girl. On fridays he isn't able to make it in until around 10:00 because her daycare opens later. He's a great worker so I made him a deal that I would handle the prep on fridays or see that it was covered so that his daughter could get off to school with minimal worry."

Gold stopped his work and looked her in the eye, "That's very generous of you. Not many people would be willing to make such an arrangement."

"You think so?" she questioned and Gold nodded without hesitation thinking of all the Killian Jones' of the world. Especially in this industry. "Well, then, that's a shame. Single parents have it hard enough. If I can take a small burden off of their backs, even for a moment then it's worth it to me. Besides, we're all family here. If I take care of my team then they will take care of me." she stated matter of factly.

Gold couldn't help the genuine smile that came across his features. Belle French was almost too good to be true. "I believe you're on to something Ms. French."

She returned the smile and then, "I won't be for long if you don't finish breading that chicken! We still have chicken strips and spicy chicken to make before we open. Let's get to it!"

Gold and Belle continued preparing the chicken for the fryer with only one unfortunate incident occurring with Gold dropping a couple of the freshly breaded chicken fingers on the floor. Belle had clasped his shoulder impressed with his abilities and the chicken all but jumped out of his hands. Belle had laughed and apologized for frightening him but he was far from afraid of the young beauty. Gold couldn't remember the last time he had been so lost around a woman. Not any of his exes, his son's mother included. None had ever made him so off kilter.

After another near miss involving a hot grease splatter across his hand when he dropped the chicken in the fryer, a tall man with wild dark hair came rushing into the kitchen.

"Belle, Belle, Belle! I am here my dear!" the man said and Gold watched as Belle smiled brightly as she was enveloped in a hug. Jealousy tugged at his heart as he watched the pair laugh over some apparent inside joke, Aiden's eyes rolling in response.

A sharp beeping noise brought Gold back to the real world as he almost forgot where he was and what he was doing. He looked for the source at the frying station but there were so many buttons he wasn't sure which was which. Belle had shown him briefly but he had been distracted by those soft hands again.

"Here we are, friend." the man said as he released Belle and leaned over to hit a red button just inches away from Gold's own hands. "Don't wanna burn the chicken on your first day. I'm sorry, where are my manners this morning. Jefferson Madden at your service, I'm the cook here. You must be our job swapper then?"

Gold nodded with a perfunctory response. "Carl."

"Well, you definitely picked a great spot to swap to. Our Belle is the best damn boss to work for. Those clowns at corporate don't know how lucky they are."

"I suspect they will find out soon," he agreed even as Belle faintly protested.

"Please, it's you guys who make me look good. We were just finishing up prep Jeff, if you want to take over."

"On it doll. Oh and Gracie sends her love as always," Jeff smiled and slipped Belle a folded up slip of paper with one hand and effortlessly cooked with the other.

"Send her my love back," Belle smiled as she turned back towards Aiden. She grabbed his elbow as she came up beside him and began leading him out of the hot kitchen and down the hall towards the office.

The room was barely more than a glorified closet, crammed full of supplies, but everything was clean and organized. The training binders were stacked in order on a small shelf beside an outdated computer. Paperwork and invoices were clearly marked in colorful trays on top of the desk. The wall surrounding the desk however was what caught his eye. It was covered in childlike drawings.

Belle carefully unfolded the paper that Jefferson had passed her and offered it to him. The drawing was a mashup of every little girl's earliest drawings. Rainbows and flowers and bunnies, oh my. In the middle of it all stood a princess in a yellow ball gown, beside a shorter princess of similar design.

"Is this you?" He couldn't help but grin. He remembered when Neal made him drawings as a child. Thousands of them, and he didn't think that was an exaggeration in the slightest. He had to start throwing them away when Neal wasn't around because he had run out of places to display the work. He always kept the important and most memorable ones but couldn't help but to retain a pang of guilt even to today for getting rid of some of them.

"Yep. Gracie loves to draw me lots of pictures as you can tell. She is a great little girl. I hope someday to have a daughter just like her. I always display them on the off chance Jeff brings her by," she answered and took the latest drawing back from Gold. Snapping off a couple pieces of tape she added it to the collage of colors on the wall.

"Are you and Jeff…" Aiden began and then swore. "I'm so sorry that's terribly invasive and none of my business."

Belle just laughed good naturedly. "No. Not at all. It's against company policy to be involved with a co-worker but even if it weren't, Jeff is like the older brother I never had."

"Of course, I'm sorry. Again." Gold fumbled, his eyes darting anywhere but her face. He was such an idiot, questioning her relationships on filmed television no less. He very much doubted the producers would be amicable to deleting that gossip and the perverted old man trying to put the moves to a much younger employee didn't sit well in any light except for outrage entertainment.

"No worries. He is an eccentric sort that takes some getting used to. Grace's mother passed a few years back and if it wasn't for that little girl he would have gone mad by now. She keeps him going. Gives him purpose I think. You'll find that most of the people working here have similar stories of loss but we've become such a family we are able to come together and support each other. I'm proud of my team."

A sad smile crossed her face but in the blink of an eye, it was gone. Aiden smiled genuinely.

"It seems like you have crafted quite the utopian workplace, Ms. French."

Belle snorted. "Not really. I don't want it to seem like I'm putting on airs for television. Like any family we have our growing pains and struggles too. Our drive thru manager Leroy is literally only known to us as Grumpy anymore because any small inconvenience can send him fuming for hours! Mary Margaret, our head cashier, is always 15 minutes late because she is engaged to Prince Charming and can barely be torn from his side. And I'm the worst of all!" she exclaimed, brow raised and shaking her head.

"What could you possibly be so horrible about?" Gold chuckled. From what he had seen of Belle, she was practically perfect.

Belle sighed, and lowered her voice, a smile barely being concealed from her lips. "You really wanna know?"

"Of course," he said. Belle motioned for him to come closer to hear her secret. Not that it would matter. No matter how quietly she whispered she was wearing a mic so sensitive it could pick up the sound of a pin dropping in the next room.

"I am horribly anal retentive. You see these papers? They are color coded," she pointed to the trays stacked on the small desk he had already observed.

"I'd say that's just being orderly." Gold defended.

"Color coded by date, time and vendor." she further explained. "Once when I was sick, Leroy had to sign for a delivery of chicken and he put the ticket in the blue basket, which would normally be right but it was a morning delivery and not an afternoon so it should have been put in the red basket. Then they loaded the cases wrong in the freezer. The chicken strips were stacked on the wrong wall. The cases with the sides were stacked in front of them and no one could find them the next day when we needed them. It was complete and utter chaos," she sighed and Gold could tell that even just reminiscing about the event was making her frazzled.

Gold nodded his head in understanding. "You think that's bad, try living with a teenager. Nothing will ever be where it belongs again."

"Aww I didn't know you had children!"

"Just one," he said holding up a finger. "My son, Neal. He's 17 now. I think he would literally die if he had to do any kind or organizing."

Belle laughed. "Does he take more after you or your wife?"

An innocent question but still it took Aiden aback. He hadn't thought of Neal's mother in years and would have preferred to keep it that way. She took off before Neal had even started school and never looked back. They would get a postcard every now and then from some random part of the world but she was barely a footnote in her son's life.

"I...uh. I'm not married anymore."

Belle realized her misstep and reached a hand out to his. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to be rude."

Gold just shook his head, shaking away all the memories and forced a smile. "He's mostly like me but whereas I have amassed many collections that all have their place, his things seem to belong anywhere they land."

Belle was about to respond when a short, heavy set man bounded down the hallway and knocked on the door even as he entered. "Time to open up," came the low, gruff voice. "I can't believe there are people sitting in the parking lot already, happy to descend upon us like vultures." The man crossed his arms on his chest and sighed.

"You love those 'vultures' Leroy. Oh and this is Carl, our job swapper!"

Leroy looked 'Carl' up and down and grunted in response before heading back down the hallway.

"I think he likes me." Gold grinned.

* * *

When they finally made their way to open the store the film crew decided to break, one of the directors muttering about how much boring talk they'd have to leave on the cutting room floor. Little drama was to be had so far.

Belle smiled at him as they went about their day and Aiden didn't think it had anything to do with the cameras because he would catch her shy smiles even between set ups. He'd just barely glance the quick bite of her lower lip and the way her eyes crinkled before she'd dip her head down and out of sight.

So, Aiden didn't the only thing that he could do and smiled back. Every time.

When it came time for their lunch he felt like some kind of lovestruck school boy, laughing and following after Belle as they sat outside on the deserted patio area. The rain had cleared up earlier that morning and the sun dried the seating area aside from a couple puddled spots that were easily avoided.

Belle sighed as the sun shined down on her, warming her skin. Aiden thought she looked like an angel with the sun shining through the tendrils of her dark hair.

 _Bollocks an angel? Get a hold of yourself old man._

"So, how does a brilliant young woman such as yourself end up working at chicken restaurant? It doesn't strike me as your first choice of employment," he asked. The producers instructed him that it was time for the next tell all portion of the series. Always over lunch.

Belle smiled a little more wearily this time he noticed and looked down at her hands wringing them nervously. "Not my first choice you're right, but it's working out well so far," came the diplomatic answer.

"Sure, but truly you must be meant for grander adventures?"

"That's what I always thought as well. My father and I moved to the US not long after my mother passed away when I was twelve. It was meant to be our adventure. My father is a florist and was able to set up shop and we did really well for awhile," she trailed off, eyes downturned as she pushed her half eaten lunch to the side.

Aiden found himself reaching for and covering her small hand in his before he could even process the movement. He squeezed her hand encouragingly and she offered a small squeeze in return, unperturbed by the unexpected contact.

"I was in my last year of university when my father became ill. It was slow at first. We didn't think much of it but then he just deteriorated at an alarming pace. Cancer," she offered with a shrug, her voice becoming small. "He couldn't run the shop anymore and I did my best to keep it afloat and go to school and take care of him but then the medical bills started to come in. Papa didn't have the best medical insurance, he was an entrepreneur, he couldn't afford it. The little that he has barely covers his basic needs. Eventually, we made the decision to sell the flower shop, claim bankruptcy. That helped for awhile, but there were still bills to be paid. I dropped out of university and got a job here. The pay was fair and the benefits as well. After I had been here a year I was even able to get access to the Employee Emergency Relief fund. I don't know what I'd do without that program…"

Aiden knew the program well. It had pre-existed his tenure as CEO but he had made strides to expand the fund, monetarily and services alike. It had originally been designed to care for employees affected by natural disasters and catastrophic events. Now it covered personal and medical needs as well, though also on a case by case basis. Aiden knew what it was to come from nothing or to go to bed hungry and he always made strides to ensure that no one would have to go through that if he could help it. There was short term and long term assistance available to all full time employees.

"It's been a long road," Belle continued wiping a stray tear that had found its way down her face. "My father is cancer free now and slowly recovering. Someday when all the medical bills are paid, I'm going to finish my degree, become a librarian like I've always wanted."

Gold smiled at that. A librarian of course. What better way to have an adventure than to live through a good book?

"You're a very strong and amazing woman, Belle," he offered, squeezing her hand once more. "Your father is lucky to have you in his life." God knows Aiden wouldn't lift a finger for his own worthless excuse of a father, at least not anymore. He'd tried to help Malcom with his gambling and alcohol addiction but it never stuck and he'd made it very clear that he didn't need help from his son or anyone else.

"That's a kind thing to say, Carl."

Without warning she leaned over and wrapped her arms around his neck, her warm body pressed up against Aiden's own. He sat in shock for a moment before he returned the hug, his hands cradling the back of her head. He thought he felt her sigh against his neck but then just as quickly the hug was over and she was pulling away, his body immediately missing her warmth.

"I'm sorry," she laughed nervously. "That was inappropriate I just… I feel like I know you somehow. I'm a hugger anyways as I'm sure you can tell by now."

He laughed along with her. "It's fine. It was uh nice."

Belle looked at him with another one of _those_ kind of smiles and the butterflies returned to his stomach.

"And cut! I think that's a good place to stop for now, that was great!" the director called out from behind the camera crew.

Gold nearly jumped out of his skin. The cameras how could he forget the cameras? He was on a national television show making gooey doe eyes at a woman half his age after she had just spilled her personal life to him. He was such an idiot. He was sure now that the producers would be much happier with the content they got from this session.

Belle seemed to have forgotten too because her face seemed to be stricken as his own. She had the good grace to recover faster than himself.

"Shall we finish our lunches then?" she indicated towards the chicken he had barely even looked at since they had walked outside. He nodded dumbfoundedly and they finished the meal in a comfortable silence.

* * *

When Gold returned to his hotel room this evening it didn't bother him anymore that the key card still took three swipes before admitting him. He wasn't bothered by the fewer accommodations that this hotel provided than the 5 star hotels he was used to. Even the sweltering horse hair wig hadn't seemed to be as itchy and hot as it normally was and he removed and put it away with far more care than the previous evening.

The time spent with Belle had been amazing. She was so easy to get along with and genuinely seemed to care about him and giving him the best possible experience. It felt like he had been out with an old friend all day instead of working.

He was so in a daze that he nearly missed the dozen yellow roses displayed in a beautiful vase on the desk beside the tv. Gold narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he approached them. They smelled fresh and permeated the air, overpowering the chicken scent that clung to him at the end of the day.

Beside the flowers sat a medium, rectangle shaped box with a yellow ribbon around it. There was no card with the box but he did find the small note that was attached to the flowers. It simply read…

 _No hard feelings, Aiden? Love, Ella and Ursula_

Now he was really suspicious. Never in the entire time he had known them had Ella and Ursula seemed the slightest bit contrite for anything that they had done to him. Not the time they moved his car to the employee lot instead of the executive garage and led him to believe for 3 hours his vehicle had been stolen. Not the time at the corporate christmas party when they each spiked his drink with small doses of gin every time they walked by him, leading to the worst hangover he had experienced since he turned 21. Nor the time they sent out a "signed" memo from him telling everyone on their floor to only address him as Rumplestiltskin from now on. There was no way in hell they regretted something so small as a single picture...unless there was something else.

Dread coiled in his stomach as he slowly pulled the ribbon from the box and carefully removed the lid. The box was lined with yellow tissue paper, yellow apparently being the theme of the evening. He dug through the mess of yellow when he finally uncovered the rubber monstrosity beneath.

 _No hard feelings my arse._

Filling the small box was a large rubber chicken with Aiden's likeness over the chicken face. He squeezed it reflexively and sighed and nodded his head when it let out a horrible chicken screech just as he had imagined. Given more time he was sure they'd have a proper chicken prop made, complete with his "cluckity, cluck, cluck day" making up the voice box. He knew them too well to expect otherwise. With his luck, it'd be a massive beast taking up his entire office.

He groaned and tossed the chicken to the side, ignoring it's screech of protest as it connected with the floor. Aiden all but collapsed on the bed his mind full of piercing blue eyes and that beautiful lilting accent.

Not only was she the best worker he had ever seen but he thought he was already half in love with her. She was real. Most of the people he had encountered on this magical tv journey had rung false with him. They played to the camera and exaggerated their emotions to the extremes. With Belle though he never got the impression that she didn't mean everything that she was saying to him. She wasn't pretending to be kind or hardworking. She was just _Belle_.

It was refreshing.

And terrifying.

He could already feel his withered heart pining after this beautiful young woman who he had no chance of ever hoping to be with. She was leaps and bounds away from his league and their first meeting was on the pretense of a lie. She had opened up to him and told him personal stories and truths. How would she feel when they met at the reveal and suddenly he was her boss? It felt icky and he didn't like the change in power dynamics. Sure, it was just a show and he was going to be helping her especially, he'd already detailed in his mind the assistance he was prepared to offer her, but then would she feel obligated to him in a way? He couldn't act on his feelings. Now or ever. It wasn't right.

Aiden threw the pillow from beneath his head with a growl.

How had his life been made infinitely more bright and complicated at the same time?


End file.
